Fall 2011 Class Descriptions

4 credit(s)Concentration(s): Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), Public Interest Law (JD), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG)

This course discusses the basic rules and principles governing federal administrative agencies. Subjects covered include the procedures governing administrative agencies, judicial review of administrative action, and presidential and congressional controls over agencies. The rules governing agencies are quite different from those that govern courts. Knowledge of these rules has become increasingly important, as many practitioners are now likely to spend more time dealing with administrative agencies than litigating in court.

Note: This course may be applied as one of the three required courses for the Public Interest Law Concentration (JD).

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in Taxation (LLMT), Business and Corporate Law (JD)Prerequisite(s): Tax I or its equivalent, Corporations or its equivalent (at the JD level)

The course consists of a series of planning problems that arise in connection with the formation and operation of a corporation. Attention will be directed to the corporate law, securities law and tax law issues related to each event with emphasis placed on active class participation in problem solving and selection of alternative solutions. For each seminar meeting there will be ungraded homework assignments directed to issues raised with each problem. The final examination will consist of a 72 hour take-home examination and problem.

Note: This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

Advanced Legal Writing is a new one-unit course specifically designed to help students strengthen their fundamental legal writing skills. The class will help students master the skills needed to be a good legal writer, including :Selecting active and powerful word choices; Constructing paragraphs; Using proper grammar and punctuation; Creating a strong micro and macro legal structure; Developing thesis and conclusion sentences; Issue spotting; Extracting, formulating, and synthesizing rules of law; Crafting explicit factual comparisons; and Revising, editing and perfecting their work product. The class will also include workshops on “The Secrets of Successful Legal Writing Students” and “How to Ace Your Final & Bar Exam Essays.” Students will learn through lecture, in-class exercises, outside-class exercises, workshops, one-on-one TA and Professor sessions and practice. The class requires no outside research. It will be graded H, P, LP and F.

Note: Students interested in taking this course need pre-approval from the professor.Additional Information:Request approval

The Agency Internship Program consists of a work component and a class component. The Agency Internship Program allows students to earn academic credit for working in a law related internship position. Students work a minimum of 60 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. For the work component, students intern with a government agency or a nonprofit organization. During the school year, the internship employer must be in the civil field or criminal appellate law field. Students participate in primarily on-line class sessions involving small group discussions, prepare weekly summaries of their work and complete a writing assignment. If you have been accepted into an internship placement and want to apply for the internship course, fill out the Internship application. If you have any other questions, email Lizzette Herrera Castellanos, Director of Agency Internship Programs or call(619) 260-2342. The internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the concentration web pages for more information. Contact Law Student Affairs to find out if your Agency Internship qualifies for a concentration.Additional Information:Concentrations Web Page, Email Law Student Affairs

This course offers students an introduction to the skills required by lawyers representing clients in three primary alternatives to trial for resolving disputes between parties: negotiation, mediation and arbitration. The course begins with an overview of U.S. arbitration law, primarily through readings from judicial decisions and problem solving. Students will then engage in role-play exercises to learn negotiation and mediation skills by doing, being observed, and trying different styles.

Note: Students are strongly encouraged to take this course before taking courses in Negotiation or International Arbitration. Students may only elect this course or Negotiation to count toward the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

Animal Law is a survey of the wide range of laws pertaining to animals. Some of the topics to be discussed during the semester include how animals have been defined by courts and legislatures, interpretation and enforcement of federal and state animal welfare statutes, and liabilities connected with the guardianship/ownership of animals. We will also consider the ethical implications of using animals for experimentation and food. In addition to reading the materials and participating in class discussions, students will be required to write a substantial paper on an issue related to animal law.

The Appellate Clinic is a year-long clinic opportunity in which teams of students will enjoy the hands-on experience of litigating from start to finish an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. During the fall semester, students will write an opening brief; and in the spring semester students will write a reply brief and participate in oral argument. Additional periodic classroom sessions held throughout the academic year will focus upon appellate procedure and persuasive written and oral advocacy. From time to time, class sessions will feature guest speakers such as judges and local practicing attorneys.
Students will receive four credits (two in the fall semester and two in the spring semester) for successfully completing the year long Appellate Clinic. This clinic will be graded on a four-tier pass/fail basis.
The Appellate Clinic is open only to third and fourth year law students; and students must have completed or take concurrently with the Appellate Clinic the following courses: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Criminal Procedure.

Some legal problems of the art world encountered by artists, art middlemen, and museums. Some of the following topics will be considered: art in wartime, the international art trade, the artist's rights in works, artistic freedom, the collector's security, the tax collector, and the museum as trustee and entrepreneur. This course draws from doctrines in many fields, including contracts, property, torts, constitutional law, administrative law, tax, intellectual property, and international law.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB)

This course will provide an examination of the liquidation and reorganization cases under the Bankruptcy Code, and the effects of bankruptcy on non-bankruptcy debtor-creditor law and pre-bankruptcy transactions. The objective of this course is to give students a working familiarity with the Code and associated rules, cases and folklore; an understanding of the policies reflected in and relevant to bankruptcy law; and an appreciation of the bankruptcy practice. There are no course prerequisites. However, the scheduling of the course on Article 9 Secured Transactions and/or the Creditors Remedies course before, or along with, the Bankruptcy course, while not required, is suggested.

3 credit(s)Requirement(s): SkillsConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB)Prerequisite(s): Tax I, Corporations

This seminar combines advance work in Corporations, Federal and State Securities laws, and Federal Taxation in the context of business planning and counseling. The course is based upon a series of problems involving common business transactions which present corporate securities law and tax issues for analysis, and resolution. The problems cover such topics as factors in the decision to incorporate; the formation of partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations, both closely held and publicly owned; securities law considerations in raising capital; corporate distributions; the sale and purchase of businesses; mergers and other forms of acquisition; and recapitalization, division, and dissolution of corporations.

Students work with assigned attorneys from the San Diego Office of the Public Defender, representing juveniles in delinquency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing their minor clients; preparing briefs and motions; participating in hearings and conferences; coordinating with probation officers, investigators, etc.; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Delinquency Clinic students must commit 20 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Students work with assigned attorneys from the San Diego Office of the Public Defender, representing juveniles in delinquency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing their minor clients; preparing briefs and motions; participating in hearings and conferences; coordinating with probation officers, investigators, etc.; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Delinquency Clinic students must commit 20 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Students work with assigned attorneys from the Dependency Legal Group of San Diego, representing abused and neglected children in dependency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing child clients; presenting evidence during bench trials; preparing briefs and memoranda; participating in settlement conferences; conducting field work with investigators; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Dependency Clinic students must commit 16 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Students work with assigned attorneys from the Dependency Legal Group of San Diego, representing abused and neglected children in dependency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing child clients; presenting evidence during bench trials; preparing briefs and memoranda; participating in settlement conferences; conducting field work with investigators; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Dependency Clinic students must commit 16 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Students work with CAI professional staff on legislative and regulatory policy advocacy projects, impact litigation, public education projects, and/or policy research and analysis of current applications of law and regulations as they affect children. Policy Clinic students are also able to serve as Educational Representatives for at-risk youth and/or assist CAI’s Homeless Youth Outreach Project. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

This is a broad course covering the basic substantive and procedural law relevant to advocacy on behalf of children. The course is taught with a combination of lecture and Socratic dialogue. It surveys the following subject areas: the rights of children, criminal prosecution of children, child abuse and protection, child tort recovery, child rights to property and support, child-related political rights and liberties, and child entitlements (including public welfare, health, nutrition, care, education, and special populations). The course includes discussion of the alternative methods of child advocacy, class action practice, writs of mandamus, administrative practice, and local government advocacy.

Students interview, counsel and represent clients at Superior Court or in administrative hearings in a wide variety of cases under the supervision of an attorney. Students draft pleadings and correspondence, as well as confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure, Evidence and either Practicum or Lawyering Skills II. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Students interview, counsel and represent clients at Superior Court or in administrative hearings in a wide variety of cases under the supervision of an attorney. Students draft pleadings and correspondence, as well as confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure, Evidence and either Practicum or Lawyering Skills II. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Civil Procedure I (Staff)LWAA510

3 credit(s)

Civil Procedure is the study of procedural rules governing civil actions in state and federal courts. The topics studied throughout the year include selection of the proper court and place for litigation, jurisdiction over the parties, joinder of parties and claims, contents of pleadings, discovery, pre-trial motions, conduct of trials, and conflicts between state and federal judicial systems.

Civil Procedure is the study of procedural rules governing civil actions in state and federal courts. The topics studied throughout the year include selection of the proper court and place for litigation, jurisdiction over the parties, joinder of parties and claims, contents of pleadings, discovery, pre-trial motions, conduct of trials, and conflicts between state and federal judicial systems.

3 credit(s)Requirement(s): WritingConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)

This course explores the most significant law and policy issues related to climate change. In the first part of the course, students will gain familiarity with the science of climate change as well as climate change law at the international and national levels. The second part of the course focuses on climate change litigation, with close study of the various legal theories used by litigants attempting to force the government to take stronger regulatory action. The third part of the course concentrates on initiatives at the state and regional level with an emphasis on California climate change policy.

The course will examine contemporary issues of comparative law with a focus on culture and religion. The course will offer an analysis of the legal and constitutional aspects of religion and culture in modern society in the broad context. Among other issues the course will deal with a comparative analysis of the models of the interrelations between church and state (total separation, no separation- recognized religions, established church, theocratic state, secular state). The course analyzes the protection of individual right for religious freedom under the various models of state and church relationship analysis. In this context a number of issues will be discussed in comparative analysis including state funding of religious institutions. The voucher system for social services in the US, days of rest, providing civil remedies in the general courts for religious matters such as resolving disputes between churches, religious symbols and dresses in public space and government institutions (such as head scarf ). Ritual slaughter of animals (kosher and halal). The role of law and the judiciary in protecting religious liberty and attaining equality in a multi-cultural society is very significant. Therefore special attention will be paid to the role of the judiciary in democracy and to the culture of judicial independence and constitutionalism. Attention will also be given to the impact of international law on domestic jurisdictions in the protection of religious and human liberty, and to the issues of interrelation between religion and national security matters. Class discussions will also be based on role- play assignments. Students will be asked to write a paper on topic to be assigned. Successful completion of the paper will fulfill the law school’s written work requirement.

The study of the United States Constitution, stressing the theory and practice of judicial interpretation and review, the separation of federal powers, the relation of the states to the federal government, and specific powers of the federal government - in particular the tax, treaty, war and commercial powers. In addition, the course will discuss freedom of speech, takings, and contract clause issues.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Criminal Law (LLMG)Prerequisite(s): Constitutional Law I

This courses covers the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection and due process clauses. Specific topics include race discrimination (including school desegregation and affirmative action), gender discrimination, discrimination against gays and lesbians, voting rights, privacy (including abortion, sexual freedom, and the right to die), and property. A final exam is required. Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I

This course in advanced constitutional law will focus on three constitutional controversies that are closely aligned with moral controversies: capital punishment, same-sex marriage, and abortion. Along the way, we will consider the question of the proper role of religion as a basis of law. The final exam will be of the “take home” variety. This class meets for 9 sessions starting Thursday, September 1 and ends November 17, 2011. There is no class 9/22, 10/20 & 11/10/2011. This class was formerly called Constitution of Liberal Democracy or Constitutional Rights, Moral Controversy, and the Supreme Court.

Contracts (Staff)LWAA520

4 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

An introduction to legal reasoning and analytical skills through an investigation of how the law enforces agreements. Included are such topics as: the requirements for the formation of a contract; problems of interpretation; damages for breach; the statute of frauds; illegality; and problems which arise during the performance stage of a contract, such as the creation and failure of express and implied conditions, excuse through impossibility or frustration of purpose, and discharge. Article II of the Uniform Commercial Code is introduced and compared with the common law of contracts.

The Corporate Counsel Internship Program consists of a work component and a class component. The Corporate Counsel Internship Program allows students to receive academic credit for working in the legal department of a corporation, company or other business entity. Students may also work in other departments of a corporation as long as they are supervised by a licensed attorney. The goal of the Program is to provide students with the opportunity to observe first-hand the operations of a corporate legal department and to gain an understanding of the legal issues addressed by corporate counsel. The student must not receive monetary compensation or any outside funding for or related to the work and must be supervised by an on-site lawyer.
Students can secure their own internship placements or meet with the Internship Director or Career Services for guidance. Placements qualify for the Program only if the organization requires that a student receive academic credit as a condition of the internship. Organizations willing to pay students or to have them work on a volunteer basis do not qualify for the Program. After a placement is found, students must complete an Application Form to have their placement approved for the Program. Employers who participate in the Program must commit to the requirements of the Program. Students work a minimum of 60 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. Students participate in primarily on-line class sessions involving small group discussions, prepare weekly summaries of their work and complete a writing assignment. If you have been accepted into an internship placement and want to apply for the internship course, fill out the Corporate Counsel application. If you have any other questions, email Lizzette Herrera Castellanos or call (619) 260-2342. The internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

2 credit(s)Requirement(s): WritingConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB)Prerequisite(s): Corporations or concurrent enrollment

This seminar explores current issues in corporation law arising from globalization, the financial scandals of the early 2000s and the financial crisis.It explores the influence of politics, economics and culture on corporate statutes, case law, international standards of conduct and rules of the Securities Exchange Commission and self-regulatory entities. This seminar covers current controversies in corporation law through examining recent law review articles on U.S. and foreign systems. Topics covered include financial instability, shareholder voting, proxy access proposals, the impact of institutional investors on corporate governance, the regulation of boards of directors and board committees, the role of independent directors, the criminal prosecution of corporations and individual officers, the nature and extent of director and officer fiduciary duties, tender offers, insider trading and corporate social responsibility. The students are expected to prepare a paper on a U.S. or comparative corporate law topic.In order to enroll in this seminar you must have taken, or are concurrently taking with this seminar, an introductory course on U.S. or foreign corporation law.

4 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB)

This course examines the structure and the rights and obligations of directors, officers, and shareholders mainly under state corporations law. Other topics include partnerships and limited liability entities. The course covers, among other subjects, the characteristics of the corporation as distinct from other forms of business association, the special problems of the closely-held corporations (a corporation owned by a few persons), the fiduciary obligations of directors and controlling shareholders in closely-held and public corporations, procedures for decision making by directors and shareholders, shareholder voting rights, and certain federal securities law subjects, such as insider trading.

Note: This is a required course for the Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD).

Covers objectives of sentencing, plea and sentence bargaining, sentencing advocacy, sentencing alternatives, prisoner conditions, prisoners' rights, jail and prison litigation, probation and parole revocation, and extraordinary writs relating to corrections. A research paper will be required.Successful completion of the paper will fulfill the law school’s written work requirement.

3 credit(s)Requirement(s): WritingConcentration(s): International Law (LLMC)

This seminar, limited to 19 students, will focus on the legal aspects of U.S. responses to international terrorism. It will endeavor to strike a balance between national security and civil liberties, discussing the implementation of federal legislative measures such as the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Also analyzed will be the separation of powers issues raised by the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Legality of the detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists will form an integral part of the course. Reference will also be made to International Law (The Geneva Conventions) and Comparative Law (Israel’s response to terrorism). A research paper is required. Successful completion of the paper will fulfill the law school’s written work requirement.

This course offers a unique opportunity to examine the criminal justice system from the perspectives of a law enforcement officer, a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, a judge, a defendant and a homeless person. There is a class component and placement component. In class, you will address the legal, procedural, ethical, social, and cultural issues that arise in the course of your field work. Some Friday afternoon sessions introduce you to the Department of the Public Defender, the courthouse, the jail, and law enforcement use of force training. (See current course syllabus on TWEN.) Your field work consists of assisting the Deputy Public Defender in the Felony Arraignment Department of the Superior Court by interviewing and advising defendants charged with felony offenses on a criminal complaint to prepare them for arraignment and a bail hearing. You will choose one afternoon that you will spend in the arraignment court throughout the semester. You will also participate in interviewing and counseling people who are chronically homeless at dinners offered by the Welcome Door Foundation on several Wednesday evenings. Enrollment is limited to ten. This course is graded on a four-tier pass-fail basis. Criminal law is a pre-requisite. A security clearance by the Department of the Public Defender is required by the beginning of the semester. The State Bar of California requires completion of or enrollment in evidence and civil procedure before a student can be certified to appear in court.

This is a clinical course that places students with a prosecuting or defending trial agency in the criminal justice system. Criminal Clinic I has a two-hour per week classroom component that provides simulations, lectures and discussions in the most common areas of criminal practice. Prerequisites: Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure I, and Lawyering Skills II or equivalent experience at the discretion of the instructor. Recommended but not required: Criminal Procedure II. Important Note: Criminal Clinic has a different registration deadline. Please contact Professor Berend for information on deadlines and additional registration materials. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

This is a clinical course that places students with a prosecuting or defending trial agency in the criminal justice system. Criminal Clinic I has a two-hour per week classroom component that provides simulations, lectures and discussions in the most common areas of criminal practice. Prerequisites: Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure I, and Lawyering Skills II. Recommended but not required: Criminal Procedure II. Important Note: Criminal Clinic has a different registration deadline. Please contact Professor Berend for information on deadlines and additional registration materials. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Criminal Law (Staff)LWAA525

4 credit(s)Concentration(s): Criminal Law (LLMC)

The purpose of criminal law, the development of the common law of crimes, the elements of the widely recognized criminal offenses, and the changes brought about by major statutes in connection with their effect on the present-day systems of criminal justice in the United States are explored in this course.

This course explores constitutional limitations upon the investigation of crime under the fourth, fifth, sixth and fourteenth amendments. Its focus is on the law governing searches, seizures, and police interrogation. Topics include the nature of a fourth amendment search; arrest and investigative detention; warrants and exceptions to the warrant requirement; confessions; and the application of the exclusionary rules.

Note: This is a required course for the Criminal Litigation Concentration (JD).

This course is limited to pre-trial matters, as effected by the fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments. Coverage will include arrest, search and seizure, wiretap, lineups, interrogation, and the exclusionary rules.

Note: This is a required course for the Criminal Litigation Concentration (JD).

This course examines the type of conduct which can trigger the imposition of criminal tax charges. We will review the various Title 26 tax crimes (including tax evasion, tax perjury, failing to file, aiding and assisting), Title 18 tax crimes (including false claims, false statements and conspiracy), and Title 31 tax crimes (including currency reporting requirements). We will also review the various methods of proof used by prosecutors and also discuss the various defenses available, along with federal sentencing guidelines and related civil tax issues. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

This course will involve a written exam at the end of the semester focused to evaluating the student's understanding of case law history and practical application of the California statutory scheme. The course will address the following legal issues: 1) History of the Death Penalty; 2) Present legal parameters for trial of a death penalty case; 3) The law and procedure relating to post-conviction death penalty litigation; 4) Systemic issues such as prosecutorial discretion and budgeting concerns; 5) Policy and ethical dilemmas concerning the Death Penalty, i.e., volunteers, race discrimination, and arbitrariness.

Students receive practical training and experience in client intake, interviewing and counseling, file review and analysis, and legal representation in diverse forums. Some cases proceed to mediation and due process hearings, where students argue the case with support from the supervising attorney. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in case management. The classroom component also includes an overview of statutes and cases in this growing area of civil law. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites. Recommended: Special Education and the Law.

Students receive practical training and experience in client intake, interviewing and counseling, file review and analysis, and legal representation in diverse forums. Some cases proceed to mediation and due process hearings, where students argue the case with support from the supervising attorney. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in case management. The classroom component also includes an overview of statutes and cases in this growing area of civil law. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites. Recommended: Special Education and the Law.

This course examines the legal rights and responsibilities of administrators, teachers, parents, and students in public and private schools. Some attention also is given to post secondary education. Using California as a point of reference, the course focuses on federal and state law constituting the legal framework within which education is delivered. Through study of constitutional provisions, statutes, and judicial decisions, students review such topics as parent rights and responsibilities, school choice through charter schools and voucher programs, teacher and student rights, unions and collective bargaining, school finance issues, special education, personnel decision making, religion on campus, student discipline and due process, privacy rights, search and seizure, race and gender isolation and discrimination, and legal liability. The broader public policy dimensions underlying both the development of education law and the operation of schools and colleges are addressed. In addition to a course packet of edited cases and selected California statutes, students will read California School Law and its web-based updates coauthored by the instructor and published by Stanford University Press. Note: Students who enroll in this course will be particularly well prepared for Law and Politics of Educational Policy Development co-taught by the instructor during the Spring 2012 semester. This course encompasses field-based visits to the Bay Area and Sacramento to interact with key figures involved in state educational policy development.

This course offers students an overview of the important legal issues that are raised in the context of the employment relationship. We will discuss employment as a contractual agreement, including tort and statutory protections, such as wrongful discharge, wage and hour laws (FLSA), leave (e.g., FMLA), safety (OSHA and workers comp), unemployment insurance, discrimination (Title VII; ADA; ADEA), privacy and freedom of speech, and intellectual property issues such as R&D ownership, trade secrets and non-competition clauses. Throughout the course, student will be able to deepen their study of contract law, torts, and statutory and regulatory processes through the context of the law of the workplace.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)

Recognizing the importance of energy to the global economy and its role in global warming, Energy Law and Policy introduces students to the legal, regulatory, and economic concepts relevant to the changing electricity and natural gas industries in the U.S. The course will examine the history of and legal basis for regulation in the energy sector, including influential cases (e.g., Munn v. Illinois) and the federal statutory framework for energy sector regulation (e.g., PUHCA of 1935, PURPA of 1978, EPACT of 1992, EPACT of 2005). Students will review the administrative law process, focusing on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), including the rate setting process for energy utilities and major regulatory orders and decisions that have shaped the industry. The course will trace the history of regulation in the electric and natural gas industries from early regulation to deregulation and discuss the current status of energy markets, including a detailed discussion of California’s energy crisis of 2000-2001. The course will examine the connection between energy and climate change and the range of market-based solutions currently being considered at the state, regional, and federal levels in the U.S. Students will also examine the role of distributed energy resources, including smart grid technologies, on-site solar energy technology, energy efficiency and demand response, in meeting future energy needs. Participants will be required to make an in-class presentation on a topical energy issue and to take a final examination.

This course is designed to provide a comprehensive survey of transactional practice of law within the entertainment industry. The material will be presented from the perspective of the practitioner representing clients involved in the production and exploitation of films and programs intended for exhibition in theatres and on television. The course will examine the appropriate business entities to be utilized, and the various structures commonly employed to finance production. These include including distribution presales, network licenses, bank loans, completion bonds, tax shelters and various domestic and foreign governmental subsidies. Major studio versus independent production will be contrasted. Sources of revenue will be discussed, as well as the various forms of contingent compensation, including deferments and net,gross and adjusted gross participations.The course will also introduce the legal and business issues encountered in connection with the acquisition of underlying literary properties and agreements for the services of producers, writers, directors and actors (including minors). Specifically included in the analysis will be the considerable impact of the various guild agreements in connection with a number of issues, including compensation, residuals, and credit. The role of agents and managers, and the laws under which they function will also be addressed. The various forms of legal protection afforded intellectual property will be examined, including under copyright, implied contract theory, rights of privacy/publicity and other statutory and common law approaches. Typical transactions and forms of contracts will be discussed, with a view towards understanding the key issues involved, the positions customarily taken by each side and the compromises often reached. The overall goal of the course is to enable students to develop an informed and analytical approach to the practice of entertainment law. While knowledge of Copyright and related intellectual property law is helpful, the student will not be expected to bring to the course any specific prior understanding or experience in the area. This class meets for a total of 12 sessions and ends November 8, 2011.

The Entertainment, Sports and Intellectual Property Internship Program consists of a work component and a class component and allows students to earn academic credit for working in a law department of an entertainment or sports industry company, talent guild or trade association, or in the intellectual property law department of a company or trade association. Students work a minimum of 60 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. Students participate in primarily online class sessions involving small group discussions, prepare weekly summaries of their work and complete a writing assignment. If you have been accepted into an internship placement and want to apply for the internship course, fill out the ESIP application below. The Internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

Through hands-on opportunities, students in the Entrepreneurship Clinic provide pro bono legal services to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs who want to start or expand their small businesses. The Entrepreneurship Clinic does not engage in litigation-related services; instead, it focuses on advising clients on legal matters relating to starting their business and assisting in drafting and filing necessary documents. Such work includes: determining the appropriate choice of business entity, assistance in obtaining necessary permits and licenses, advising on employment and independent contractor issues, drafting and reviewing commercial contracts and leases, and assisting with the establishment of tax-exempt organizations. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

Through hands-on opportunities, students in the Entrepreneurship Clinic provide pro bono legal services to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs who want to start or expand their small businesses. The Entrepreneurship Clinic does not engage in litigation-related services; instead, it focuses on advising clients on legal matters relating to starting their business and assisting in drafting and filing necessary documents. Such work includes: determining the appropriate choice of business entity, assistance in obtaining necessary permits and licenses, advising on employment and independent contractor issues, drafting and reviewing commercial contracts and leases, and assisting with the establishment of tax-exempt organizations. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

2-4 credit(s)Requirement(s): SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)Prerequisite(s): Environmental Law or concurrently

This is a clinical course for students who wish to develop litigation skills in the context of environmental law. All work is performed under the direct supervision of the director of the Environmental Law Clinic. This clinic focuses on impact litigation. There is a two-hour per week classroom component, as well as a regular meeting with the director of the Environmental Law Clinic. Prerequisite: Environmental Law, which may be taken concurrently. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in Taxation (LLMT), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG)Prerequisite(s): Tax I

This course will consider Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and its implications for employee benefit plan administration and litigation. Attention will be devoted to fiduciary conduct, investment management concerns, reporting and disclosure rules, federal preemption of state laws, and employees benefit claim and fiduciary litigation. Tax I is a prerequisite. LLM in Taxation students may take Tax I concurrently. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (JD), International Law (LLMC)

This year's edition of the course focuses on French legal culture, one of the most influential legal models in history. It examines the way in which French judges, lawyers, and academics think about the law and about the role of law in society. It also considers the impact of Europeanization of law on French ways. The course seeks to achieve two main goals. First, it wants to equip the U.S. law student with a grasp of what can be surprisingly different sets of assumptions and, through this familiarization, to facilitate eventual interaction on the international legal and business scene. Secondly, it seeks to enhance critical reflection on U.S. law. This 2-credit course is taught from mid-August until late September and the final “take-home” examination is set towards the end of September. No prior knowledge of foreign law or of a foreign language is required. Enrollment is limited to 30 students.

1 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI), Business and Corporate Law (JD), International Law (LLMC)

As business is becoming more international so must the law and lawyers. In a world of international trade and transactions companies and their advisers need to have a global legal horizon. Until quite recently, it would not have made any practical sense to talk about an “EU commercial law”. However, due to the ongoing harmonization of the law of the EU countries a body of truly common European law is emerging from the melting pot of the national laws and traditions and EU institutions and courts. The course draws on the results of 30 years of continued and ongoing EU harmonization to provide US law students with an overview of some of the central aspects of European commercial law. The course focuses on the practical legal problems facing an American enterprise doing business in Europe but at the same time provides for a basic understanding of the EU legal framework. After a brief general introduction to EU law the course falls in two parts. Part I deals with the transfer of goods and covers such topics as general contract law (PECL Principles of European Contract Law), the EC directive on Unfair Contract Terms, the EC directive on Products Liability and central liability rules related to the transportation of goods. Part II deals with the trade in intangible rights notably patents and trademarks. This part opens with a general presentation of the European systems for the protection of inventions and trademarks. It then moves on to discuss aspects relating to the exercise of those rights in regard to the Treaty rules on the free movement of goods (“parallel importation” and the principle of “exhaustion of rights”) and to tech-trans agreements and other issues involving competition law. The course requires no prior knowledge of European law. This class will have a final examination. (Class meets from October 11 – 27, 2011.) Information on course material will follow.

The rules of evidence in judicial tribunals, focusing on the Federal Rules of Evidence and the California Evidence Code, are addressed in this course. Also covered are issues relating to: (1) judicial control and administration - functions of judge and jury, judicial notice, burden of proof presumptions, problems of relevancy, circumstantial evidence, and unfair prejudice; and (2) witnesses - competency, privileges, principles of examination and cross-examination, impeachment and support, expert and lay opinion testimony. The hearsay rule and its exceptions, rules relating to writings, real and scientific evidence are also examined. Twenty percent of the final grade will be based on students’ responses to in-class questions using I-Clicker technology. The law school will provide an I-Clicker to each student free of charge if the device is returned in acceptable condition at the end of the semester; otherwise, a fee of $40 will be assessed. Additional information on loaner distribution will be forthcoming. If you miss a class, you will not be able to earn points for the questions asked that day; however, students will have their four lowest-scoring classes disregarded in computing their grade, which will provide a cushion for students who must miss some classes. The final exam will be completely closed book and will consist of some “objective” and some essay questions.

Note: This is a required course for the Civil Litigation (JD) and Criminal Litigation (JD) concentrations.Additional Information:I-Clicker

The rules of evidence in judicial tribunals, focusing on the Federal Rules of Evidence and the California Evidence Code are addressed in this course. Also covered are issues relating to: (1) judicial control and administration - functions of judge and jury, judicial notice, burden of proof presumptions, problems of relevancy, circumstantial evidence, and unfair prejudice; and (2) witnesses - competency, privileges, principles of examination and cross-examination, impeachment and support, expert and lay opinion testimony. The hearsay rule and its exceptions, rules relating to writings, real and scientific evidence are also examined.

Note: This is a required course for the Civil Litigation (JD) and Criminal Litigation (JD) concentrations.

Family Law Seminar will engage in a survey, within a seminar format, of constitutional and legislative doctrine related to traditional family-law topics. Participants will prepare and present on three short research memos (5-6 pages) on topics pertaining to the course. No exam will be given. Written-work credit is not available. All students, including students who have previously completed a Family Law survey course, are eligible to take this course. A copy of the course prospectus is available from Prof. Horton.

This survey course provides an introduction to the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, with attention to the treatment of various types of inter vivos and testamentary dispositions. Students who enroll in this course should already have taken (or currently be taking) Trusts and Estates (Wills and Trusts) and/or Tax I (Federal Income Taxation).

This is a hands-on clinical course for students who wish to develop tax controversy skills. Students working under the supervision of the Tax Clinic supervising attorney will represent low income taxpayers in resolving their tax disputes with the IRS. Students will learn client interviewing skills, how to interact with IRS personnel, and how to effectively resolve a client’s federal tax dispute. Students must also be available to participate in Tax Clinic Outreach presentations at various community locations and times. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. Prerequisite: Tax I.

A study of the administrative procedures with reference to the audit of tax returns; information-gathering; practice before the IRS; pre-litigation administrative procedures; U.S. Tax Court litigation and rules of practice; settlement procedures and trial strategies; tax refund litigation, including preparation of claims for refund, jurisdictional prerequisites, and strategies; preparation of ruling requests; offers in compromise; collection; penalties and interest; and criminal tax investigations. Prerequisites: Tax I and Tax II. Note: Tax LLM students may take Tax II concurrently. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in Taxation (LLMT), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB)

Much of the practice of law relates to financial issues. This two-credit course deals with understanding and analyzing financial statements, basic business valuation techniques and their importance in litigation matters, economic damages calculations (both personal injury and business damages), and concepts of present value. Understanding these financial concepts is critical to lawyers who encounter them daily in their practices. The course is designed for the student who does not have a sophisticated background in accounting or finance.

The course covers the fundamentals of bar exam essay writing and performance test writing. The first class is an introduction to bar exam components and topics. The next several classes focus on the details of essay exam writing and performance test drafting. Students will receive substantial feedback on their written work, and participate in small group sessions, self and peer review, and professor-student conferencing. Grading is on the H/P/LP/F scale. Students may be withdrawn from the course and/or given a failing grade for missing more than one class, failing to turn in any written assignments on time, or failing to complete any practice examination. This class is only available to December graduates. Enrollment is by application only through the Office of JD Student Affairs.

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (LLMC)Prerequisite(s): Constitutional Law I

Constitutional law is increasingly becoming a shared enterprise which transcends the borders of the nation-state. Supreme Court Justices correspond with each other in their judicial opinions, draw upon each others work, and share similar jurisprudential frameworks. In addition constitutional law in many countries has increasingly converged upon a similar template. This template includes a robust form of judicial review, a two-step rights protection system (consisting of a rights protection clause, and a limitation clause, which limits rights) and a standard-based doctrine, such as balancing or proportionality, for the adjudication of rights conflicts. While in many respects America is the birth place of constitutionalism and the driving force behind its global success, its own constitutional law stands apart from this common template and resists attempts at constitutional borrowing and influence. The course will review the different aspects of global constitutionalism, show how American constitutional law differs from the global template and review the historical and ideological reasons for this difference. The course will also discuss the fundamental questions that are raised by global constitutionalism regarding the nature of constitutional law and of constitutional rights. The grade will be based on a final examination. Prerequisite: Con Law I

2-4 credit(s)Requirement(s): SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

Students gain practical experience through interviewing, counseling, and representing clients with immigration-related problems. Students complete forms and draft documents on behalf of clients. Students also attend and/or participate at hearings at Immigration Court. Weekly meetings are held with the clinic supervisor to discuss immigration law, practical application and casework. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No Prerequisites.

2-4 credit(s)Requirement(s): SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), International Law (LLMC)

Students gain practical experience through interviewing, counseling, and representing clients with immigration-related problems. Students complete forms and draft documents on behalf of clients. Students also attend and/or participate at hearings at Immigration Court. Weekly meetings are held with the clinic supervisor to discuss immigration law, practical application and casework. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No Prerequisites.

This course provides a broad overview of intellectual property law. After discussing the policies underlying the protection of intellectual property rights, we will cover trade secret, patent, copyright, and trademark law, and related doctrines such as the right of publicity. These topics will be examined with a focus on new technologies, but a science or technical background is not required. This course provides a foundation for advanced intellectual property courses and is also appropriate or students who seek only a general understanding of intellectual property law. The grade will be based on a final examination.

Note: May be applied as part of the six required credits for the Intellectual Property Concentration (JD).

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB)

This course provides an introduction to the legal aspects of private international sales and investment transactions. Topics include sales contracts, letters of credit, bills of lading, investment and financing contracts, and resolution of private sales and investment disputes. Regulatory aspects of international transactions, including export licensing, regulatory jurisdiction, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, will also be considered. The focus will be transactional, with attention to the structure of private relationships and the anticipation and avoidance of litigation.

Note: This is a required course for the International Law Concentration (JD).

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

Legal aspects of contracts for the international sale of goods under the UN Convention. Topics include the applicability of the convention and its most important substantive provisions including contract formation, choice of forum, choice of law, warranties, risk of loss, excuse and dispute resolution.

3 credit(s)Requirement(s): WritingConcentration(s): International Law (JD), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

This course will initially address the general nature of international criminal law and the hierarchy of crimes as it relates to individual, state and other responsibilities along with the important concept of universal jurisdiction for certain classes of crimes. The study will then focus on the United States Constitution and our approaches to international criminal law in case law that includes military commissions and court martial processes. The legal rationales for states to exercise of jurisdiction over the person will be examined under the processes of extradition, rendition, deportation and extraterritorial abductions. Considerable attention will be given to the international tribunals that followed World War II and the later ad hoc tribunals that preceded the creation of the Rome Statute (1998) for the International Criminal Court in The Hague with its jurisdiction over the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. The course will review some of the major jurisprudence from domestic and international tribunals on the subject of international criminal law as well as decisions from the International Court of Justice. The contemporary issues of piracy, terrorism, genocide, torture & inhumane treatment, drug trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking will cover most of the final segment of the course. A lecture-seminar approach will be used for the classes that will require class participation. The final grade for the class will be based primarily on the submission of an approved-topic paper that will satisfy the writing requirement for graduation.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): International Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in International Law (LLMI), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

International finance techniques have become increasingly effective but technically challenging. This course first covers key legal and tax issues common to most international financing. Separate units then cover several of the most common cross-border finance techniques, analyzing key elements of each technique and providing examples of legal and tax regimes and specific transactions to illustrate such techniques. The course concludes by identifying several areas of opportunity, as well as certain ethical issues, applicable to international finance.
At the beginning of the course, students are assigned to teams. Each team is provided with a brief case study proposing one of the finance techniques covered in the course, and makes a presentation in the final sessions of the course and later submits a paper covering key elements and issues of the finance technique in its case study. In addition, each student’s course grade may be increased (but not decreased) based upon classroom performance by one grade level (e.g., from B to B+). One or more previous courses in finance or taxation are recommended, but not required. Students who have taken or intend to enroll in Taxation of International Finance are not eligible to enroll in this course.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (JD), International Law (LLMC)

An introduction to international human rights. Among the topics to be discussed: UN-sponsored human rights treaties; the morality of international human rights, with particular reference to capital punishment, abortion, and same-sex marriage; the International Criminal Court; humanitarian intervention; globalization and human rights. The grade for the course will be based both on class participation and on a take home exam. This class starts August 31, 2011.

Note: Students may only elect this course or International Redress for Human Injustice to count toward the International Law Concentration (JD).

3 credit(s)Requirement(s): SkillsConcentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (LLMC), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG)

The course will include specific materials and skill-building exercises on cross-cultural aspects of the bargaining process. Participants will include lawyers from other nations who are enrolled in USD's LLMC program, and upper class American JD students. Four-tier Pass/Fail grading.

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), LLM in Taxation (LLMT)

International aspects of the sports law of the U.S., EU and other countries, including regulation of the Olympics, disputes between athletes and sports governing bodies, the jurisdiction and operation of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and its developing body of sports law, and current matters such as doping, labor, competition, and other issues.

The first portion of this seminar provides a basic survey of major international tax issues relating to cross-border transactions, including residency, source, taxation of business and investment activities of U.S. persons abroad and foreign persons within the U.S., entity classification, the foreign tax credit, and transfer pricing. In the second portion of the seminar, students will independently explore current international tax topics, such as proposals to address tax haven abuses, strengthen anti-deferral provisions, and move toward a territorial system. The seminar is intended primarily for JD students seeking an introduction to structural policy issues in the international arena. Prerequisite: Tax I is required; Tax II may be useful. The student’s grade is based on seminar participation and a written paper. Satisfactory completion of the course will meet the upper-class writing requirement for the JD degree (and the Tax Policy requirement for the LLM Taxation degree).

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Taxation (LLMT)Prerequisite(s): Tax IRecommended Class(es): Tax II

This basic course in international taxation will focus on the principles relating to the taxation of foreign persons (individuals as well as legal entities) by the United States and the U.S. taxation of income received by U.S. individuals and entities from activities abroad. Topics will include principles of international tax jurisdiction; rules relating to the source of income and deductions; the foreign tax credit; Section 482 and transfer pricing; foreign currency translations; international double taxation treaties and an introduction to controlled foreign corporations. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

Note: Students who have taken OUTBOUND INTERNATIONAL TAX PLANNING (Pugh) and/or TAXATION ON INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS (Lazerow) are not eligible to enroll in this course.

This course provides advanced training in the skills of client interviewing and counseling. The first part of the course is devoted to learning the specific micro-skills that make up effective interviewing through readings, demonstrations and role-plays. The second- part focuses on the counseling dimension of lawyer-client relationships. In addition to classroom preparation and activities, students will interview actual clients in various locales, including the USD Legal Clinic, the San Diego County Law Library Clinic, and several senior citizen centers. Ethical issues unique to interviewing and counseling are emphasized. Lawyering Skills II or Practicum is highly recommended, but not required. Enrollment is limited; attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Introduction to United States Law is a required course for Master of Comparative Law students. No other students may enroll. This course comparatively introduces distinctly American approaches to law, lawyering and legal processes. Special emphasis is placed on the common law tradition.

Note: This course is for LLMC students only.

Introduction to the Study of Law (Staff)LWAA505

1 credit(s)

Introduction to the Study of law is a 1-credit, fall semester-only course designed to provide first-year law students with an introduction to the legal system and profession, and to assist in the development of analytical reasoning skills. The course provides students with an introduction to legal education, the legal profession, and the legal system in general. Topics include: the structure of the American government and court systems; types, sources and meanings of law; tools of interpretation; techniques for understanding and analyzing legal problems; and professionalism. The course also introduces students to professional skills opportunities while in law school and techniques in organization, time-management, and exam preparation. Student learning will be evaluated through short writing assignments and objective in-class quizzes. This course is graded on a “pass/fail” basis.

The Judicial Internship Program allows students to receive academic credit for work in a judge's chambers in San Diego. Students must work 60 hours per unit of credit. In addition to the work component of the Program, students enrolled in the program will have regular contact with the Program's instructor, Professor Horton, who will meet with students individually, assign various written projects (such as a journal and a final paper), and review samples of the student's written work from the internship. The program is limited to a total of 20 students per semester or summer term. Preference is given to students who are in, or who are about to enter, their final law school year.
Professor Horton has a manual that explains the judicial internship process; interested students should be sure to pick up a copy of the manual. Students can secure their own internship position or can meet with Professor Horton for guidance in securing a placement. The internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

This seminar will focus on the structures of judicial decision making in Legal Formalism, Scalian Textualism, Legal Realism, Sociological Jurisprudence, and Legal Process, and Critical Theory (an amalgamation of Critical Race Theory, Critical Feminist Theory, LatCrit Theory, Asian Critical Theory, and other "outsider" theories). Students will be evaluated on the basis of a paper plus weekly oral and written classroom presentations. Class attendance is essential. This class has 3 additional mandatory Friday sessions at the beginning of the semester that will give students extra time to work on their papers at the end of the semester.

2-4 credit(s)Requirement(s): SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)

The Land Use Clinic provides students with the opportunity to become involved in land use and land development issues. Students are placed with government agencies, elected officials or attorneys in private practice. Most placements are with the City of San Diego and include the City Attorney’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, and City Council offices. Students work under the supervision of an attorney. Student work usually focuses on local issues including the procedures for siting cell phone towers, the regulation of adult entertainment and cardrooms, reviewing environmental documents, attending community meetings and issues involving affordable housing. The weekly two-hour classroom component covers the basic statutory and regulatory framework of land use law and procedures. In addition to the class students are required to attend one local community planning group meeting. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

2-4 credit(s)Requirement(s): SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)

The Land Use Clinic provides students with the opportunity to become involved in land use and land development issues. Students are placed with government agencies, elected officials or attorneys in private practice. Most placements are with the City of San Diego and include the City Attorney’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, and City Council offices. Students work under the supervision of an attorney. Student work usually focuses on local issues including the procedures for siting cell phone towers, the regulation of adult entertainment and cardrooms, reviewing environmental documents, attending community meetings and issues involving affordable housing. The weekly two-hour classroom component covers the basic statutory and regulatory framework of land use law and procedures. In addition to the class students are required to attend one local community planning group meeting. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

Land Use Planning focuses principally on the public regulation of private land. Topics covered in the course include the power of state and local government over land development, the role of general and specific plans, zoning and subdivision regulation, selected environmental laws affecting land development, the use of government exactions and fees, and federal and state constitutional limitations on government authority, such as eminent domain and regulatory takings. Grades are based on a short memorandum on a topic selected by the student pertaining to a “current development” in land use and on a final examination.

Students interview, counsel, and represent clients in Superior Court unlawful detainer trials, in administrative hearings involving federally subsidized Section 8 termination proceedings, in Superior Court involving Writs of Administrative Mandamus, and in the Appellate Department of the Superior Court and the Fourth District Court of Appeal involving appeals from the various trial court proceedings. An adjunct professor/attorney supervises students, who draft pleadings and correspondence, conduct discovery, and confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving, and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure and Evidence. Preference will be given to those applicants who have taken Practicum or Lawyering Skills II, and who are willing to take three units. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Students interview, counsel, and represent clients in Superior Court unlawful detainer trials, in administrative hearings involving federally subsidized Section 8 termination proceedings, in Superior Court involving Writs of Administrative Mandamus, and in the Appellate Department of the Superior Court and the Fourth District Court of Appeal involving appeals from the various trial court proceedings. An adjunct professor/attorney supervises students, who draft pleadings and correspondence, conduct discovery, and confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving, and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure and Evidence. Preference will be given to those applicants who have taken Practicum or Lawyering Skills II, and who are willing to take three units. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

This course introduces the student to the burgeoning field of legal thought on the intersection of law and economics. It analyzes a wide variety of legal institutions, including property, contract, tort, criminal law, corporate law, and antitrust, from the perspective of the incentive structures that are created by these institutions. In that sense, economic analysis is a value-neutral scientific exploration of cause and effect. However, we will also use economics to ask important normative questions about the legal fields we study. Do the legal rules in these areas result in activity that is privately profitable but socially wasteful? Would alternative legal rules more efficiently coordinate private activity in the service of the public good? There are no prerequisites for this course. All students enrolled in this class must take the final exam. Students can also complete a paper (along with taking the final exam) that will fulfill the written work requirement.

In this course, we shall address the relation of literary and legal practices through close readings of works by Edgar Allan Poe, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, Harriet Jacobs, Harriet Beecher Stowe, George Washington Cable, Mark Twain, Pauline Hopkins, and Charles Chesnutt. These readings will be supplemented by considerations of legal developments in the nineteenth century, with particular, though not exclusive, attention to the Reconstruction amendments. Although most literary historians have characterized the relations between literature and law in the antebellum period as oppositional, with literary writers advocating higher or natural laws associated with racial justice and legal writers insisting upon an increasingly formal and technical positive law, the emergence of legal forms of antislavery thought, leading to constitutional emancipation, usefully complicates this narrative. To what extent, then, does the movement towards constitutional emancipation shape literary writing, and how does literature inform, if not the law, then the imaginative and intellectual conditions in which it is written and interpreted? This course’s assignments—a shorter essay (5-7 pages) and a longer research paper (15-20 pages)—will fulfill the writing requirement of the law school.

Lawyering Skills I (Staff)LWAA545

2 credit(s)

This course is offered in small sections with very low student-faculty ratios. Faculty carefully review each student's writing assignments and students are provided many opportunities to revise their work. Students do their research assignments at the Law School's state-of-the-art Legal Research Center. In addition, each student is trained on both the Westlaw and Lexis computer-assisted legal research systems. Students are also carefully trained in oral advocacy skills. After writing an appellate brief, each student delivers an oral argument based on the brief, first for the instructor and then before a panel of attorneys. Required for first-year students.

Students receive training in a variety of legal skills, including interviewing, counseling, negotiating, drafting memos, discovery, and trial advocacy. The course is specifically designed to follow-up on and expand the skills introduced to the student in Lawyering Skills I. The course methodology combines lectures, demonstrations and individual student performances in small groups with extensive critique and feedback by small group instructors who are experienced practitioners. The course culminates in a mock trial. Four-tier Pass/Fail grading.

Note: Students may only elect this course or Practicum--Civil to count toward the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

This course is offered in small sections with very low student-faculty ratios. Faculty carefully review each student's writing assignments and students are provided many opportunities to revise their work. Students do their research assignments at the Law School's state-of-the-art Legal Research Center. This course is open to students in the LLM in Comparative Law for Foreign Lawyers program.

This course is designed to provide intensive assistance in legal analysis and legal writing, focusing on the kind of analytical and writing skills necessary for success on law school and bar examinations. Students will receive group and one-on-one instruction in legal analysis and legal writing. The exercises and assignments will closely track the doctrines covered in the substantive class which the course is attached. Enrollment is limited and the class will meet one hour per week. Students who successfully complete the course will receive one academic credit. The course will be graded on an “Honors, Pass, Low Pass, Fail” grading scale. Enrollment may be granted on a first-come, first-served, space available basis, but only if students are: 1) eligible for enrollment in the substantive class to which the course is attached, and 2) actually enrolled in such class – Prof. Henning

This course is designed to provide intensive assistance in legal analysis and legal writing, focusing on the kind of analytical and writing skills necessary for success on law school and bar examinations. Students will receive group and one-on-one instruction in legal analysis and legal writing. The exercises and assignments will closely track the doctrines covered in the substantive class which the course is attached. Enrollment is limited and the class will meet one hour per week. Students who successfully complete the course will receive one academic credit. The course will be graded on an “Honors, Pass, Low Pass, Fail” grading scale. Enrollment may be granted on a first-come, first-served, space available basis, but only if students are: 1) eligible for enrollment in the substantive class to which the course is attached, and 2) actually enrolled in such class – Prof. Dripps

This course is designed to provide intensive assistance in legal analysis and legal writing, focusing on the kind of analytical and writing skills necessary for success on law school and bar examinations. Students will receive group and one-on-one instruction in legal analysis and legal writing. The exercises and assignments will closely track the doctrines covered in the substantive class which the course is attached. Enrollment is limited and the class will meet one hour per week. Students who successfully complete the course will receive one academic credit. The course will be graded on an “Honors, Pass, Low Pass, Fail” grading scale. Enrollment may be granted on a first-come, first-served, space available basis, but only if students are: 1) eligible for enrollment in the substantive class to which the course is attached, and 2) actually enrolled in such class – Prof. Devitt

This course is designed to provide intensive assistance in legal analysis and legal writing, focusing on the kind of analytical and writing skills necessary for success on law school and bar examinations. Students will receive group and one-on-one instruction in legal analysis and legal writing. The exercises and assignments will closely track the doctrines covered in the substantive class which the course is attached. Enrollment is limited and the class will meet one hour per week. Students who successfully complete the course will receive one academic credit. The course will be graded on an “Honors, Pass, Low Pass, Fail” grading scale. Enrollment may be granted on a first-come, first-served, space available basis, but only if students are: 1) eligible for enrollment in the substantive class to which the course is attached, and 2) actually enrolled in such class – Prof. Lilly

This course provides a legal and policy overview of the key cases, legislation, and technologies affecting mass communications in the United States. Students will be exposed to a survey of five major areas of media law: governmental speech regulation (e.g., obscenity, prior restraint), libel, privacy, news gathering rights, and copyright and fair use. While much of the assigned materials focus on print and broadcast media, the course will often examine the interplay between “new” media, cutting-edge technologies, and civil liberties. Discussion topics will run the gamut from the New York Times to TMZ, from crush videos to fantasy baseball sites, and from Nicole Richie’s fleeting expletives on Fox to Courtney Love’s disparaging rants on Twitter, leaving time to canvass the legal pitfalls awaiting YouTube when a user uploads an excerpt of the German film Downfall with the subtitles modified to suggest that Adolf Hitler is enraged about the vuvuzela’s ubiquity at the 2010 World Cup. One oft-explored question will be whether today’s communication laws – some established before most Americans had a home computer or cable television – will hold up or buckle in the face of emerging technologies and media platforms. By analyzing Mel Gibson’s privacy rights, Gizmodo bloggers’ news gathering rights, and Voyeur Dorm’s speech rights, students will learn to help clients with communications and media issues in the post-Facebook era. While there are no formal prerequisites for the course, a prior knowledge of torts, constitutional law, and some basic intellectual property concepts might be helpful. No specialized technical knowledge is necessary, although students may get lost if their idea of new media is an AOL “500 Hours Free!” CD-ROM. The final course grade will be based on a take-home exam, midterm, and class participation.

The semester Mediation Skills course and the Mediation Internship are separate, though linked, course offerings. Upon completion of the skills course, students will be eligible to participate in a program allowing them to mediate actual cases filed with the San Diego County Small Claims Court. Students must do the skills training sessions and the mediation internship in the same semester. The student interns will meet with the internship supervisor in two group sessions during the semester and on bi-weekly TWEN sessions.

Mediation is a process by which a trained and impartial third party helps others resolve a dispute. Lawyers use mediation extensively, both as advocates and as neutrals. This course consists of a twenty-four hour basic mediation sills training. Participants will learn to mediate a variety of disputes, using the methodology developed by San Diego's National Conflict Resolution Center. They will receive a certificate of participation upon their successful completion of the training. Participants must commit to attending each of the training sessions as a condition of enrollment. Enrollment is limited to 24 participants. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.
Completion of Mediation Skills is a prerequisite for enrollment in the Mediation Internship. The semester Mediation Skills course and the Mediation Internship are separate, though linked, course offerings. Upon completion of the skills course, students will be eligible to participate in a program allowing them to mediate actual cases filed with the San Diego County Small Claims Court. Students must do the skills training sessions and the mediation internship in the same semester. To learn more please go to Mediation Internship course description.

3 credit(s)Requirement(s): WritingConcentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), International Law (JD), International Law (LLMC)

Designed to give students the basic elements of the Mexican legal system, this course underlines the differences and similarities between the U.S. legal system and Mexico's civil law system. Particular attention will be given to the examination of certain Mexican law branches, such as civil, constitutional and "amparo," and corporations. Some reference will be made to the Mexican court system, its legal history, legal education, and legal profession. Current legal questions between U.S. and Mexico will also be covered. A research paper is required.

Effective negotiation skills are essential to the successful practice of law. Most legal disputes are resolved through direct negotiation. This course will teach students effective communication techniques and negotiation strategies in a workshop style setting. The course will introduce students to different types of bargaining, different approaches to bargaining, specialized communication techniques used by effective negotiators, and techniques for overcoming negotiating impasses. Negotiation practices will be taught using both lecture and experiential methods (interactive exercise, role play exercises). This course will be practical in its orientation, with an emphasis on prevailing negotiation techniques and strategies customarily used by practicing lawyers. Due to the participatory nature of the course, enrollment will be limited. Grades will be based on a written final examination, homework assignments, and class participation. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass/Fail basis.

Note: Students may only elect this course or Alternative Dispute Resolution to count towards the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

A simulation course offering advanced training in the theory and practice of negotiating. Simulated negotiations of increasing complexity are carried on outside the classroom. Students are introduced to contrasting negotiation contexts, such as family and criminal law practice. Students maintain a journal over the semester. Emphasis is placed on the unique ethical issues attending negotiations. Enrollment is limited. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass/Fail basis.

Note: Students may only elect this course or Alternative Dispute Resolution to count towards the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

This course considers the federal tax consequences of entity classification of partnership and limited liability companies; formation of a partnership; basis of partnership interests and assets; effect of liabilities on basis; allocation of income and deductions; partnership elections; continuation, merger, and termination of partnerships; family partnerships; sales and exchanges of partnership interests; liquidating and non-liquidating distributions; retiring partners; and pertinent policy considerations. Tax I is a prerequisite.

Patent law generally concerns the provision and enforcement of rights for novel, non-obvious, and useful inventions. This course will cover (1) the legal requirements and process to obtain a U.S. patent (i.e., patent prosecution); (2) methods of valuing, selling, and licensing patent rights; (3) patent litigation; and (4) public policy issues, particularly the role patents play in technological innovation and recent efforts to "reform" the patent laws. In addition to readings from a casebook, course materials will include actual documents from patent prosecution, licensing, and litigation matters. Thus, students will not only learn patent law doctrine, but will be introduced to the types of work done by practicing patent lawyers. No science or engineering background is required, nor important, for the course. Introduction to IP or previous work experience with basic patent law is recommended but not required. Grades will be assigned on the basis of a take home final exam.

Note: May be applied as part of the six required credits for the Intellectual Property Concentration (JD).

The purpose of this course is to prepare students to understand the law and analyze the problems involved in protecting inventions under U.S. Patent Laws and in protecting trade secrets under the common law and the California Trade Secret Statute. Although the protection of state-of-the-art technology, including software and biotechnology, is included in portions of the course, technical or scientific expertise of the student is not a prerequisite.

Note: May be applied as part of the six required credits for the Intellectual Property Concentration (JD).

The patent litigation course provides substantive patent law knowledge with a focus on the practical application and litigation skills. This course is appropriate for students who have taken or are taking patent law and other intellectual property courses and who are seeking to deepen and refine their understanding of how patent litigation actually works. This course will be of particular interest to students who envision practicing in the areas of patent litigation or patent prosecution. Previous coursework in general patent law is recommended but not required. Patent Law is a pre-or-co-requisite.The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis

The U.S. Constitution has extraordinarily rich intellectual roots. In this seminar, we will explore them, concentrating on the ideas of natural rights, republicanism and constitutionalism. We will look at such major thinkers as Locke, Montesquieu, the authors of the Federalist Papers, Jefferson, and some of their opponents and critics, such as Machiavelli and Hobbes, and how their ideas bore on the framing. We will also look at some contemporary interpreters of theories of rights, constitutionalism and republicanism. Students will write a paper. Participation in the seminar discussions is required. This course fulfills the writing requirement for students who successfully complete the research paper.

The roles of the lawyer in society and the obligations implied in those roles are examined. Topics include disciplinary standards and procedures, the history and organization of the legal profession; avoiding conflict of interest; obligations to clients, the courts, and society, and conflicts presented by the adversary system for settlements of disputes; and responsibilities of lawyers as public servants and citizens. American Bar standards will be reviewed.

Property (Staff)LWAA530

4 credit(s)

Consideration is given, in both a historical and modern sense, to the rights and obligations that arise out of the legal ownership of possessory and non-possessory interests, tangible, and to a limited extent, intangible, personal, and real property. Areas covered include estates in land, landlord-tenant, conveyancing, land development, public and private control of land use, non-possessory rights in land, bailments, lost and misplaced property, gifts, and an introduction to gratuitous transfers of realty.

4 or 5 credits - Year-long course
Students study the substantive laws governing the functioning and decision making of state administrative agencies. These laws include the "sunshine statutes" which require most agency decision making to take place in public and guarantee public access to most agency records (the open meetings acts and the California Public Records Act) and the state Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the process agencies must follow to adopt regulations or take disciplinary action against the license of a licensee. Students also study important limitations on the power of agencies (including constitutional and antitrust limitations), and the functioning of the state legislature, which may enact, repeal, or amend the enabling acts of most agencies. As part of their coursework, students are assigned to monitor two California agencies; they travel all over the state to attend agency meetings, monitor and analyze their activities, interview agency officials and licensees, and track rulemaking, legislation, and litigation affecting their agencies. Twice during the year, students submit written reports on the activities of their assigned agencies. These reports are edited by CPIL professional staff and published, with attribution to the student author, in the Center's California Regulatory Law Reporter, the only legal journal of its kind in the nation; the Reporter is reprinted in full on Westlaw. Students wishing to take Public Interest Law and Practice should pre-register for the course. Public Interest and Practice is subject to a special application procedure or visit the CPIL’s offices (rear door of the LRC) for further information.

Note: This course may be applied as one of the three required courses for the Public Interest Law Concentration (JD).

Students who enjoy Public Interest Law and Practice frequently go on to take Public Interest Law Clinic, in which they may design their own writing or advocacy project related to regulatory or public interest law. In the past, these projects have included written critiques of agencies or agency programs; petitioning an agency to adopt regulations; drafting model legislation; participating in litigation to enforce the state's "sunshine statutes"; or submitting amicus curiae briefs on public interest issues pending appeal. Student critiques of publishable quality may satisfy USD's written work requirement. Students interested in Public Interest Law Clinic must secure a permission slip prior to pre-registration from Professor Julie D'Angelo Fellmeth at CPIL's offices. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), Public Interest Law (JD), International Law (JD), International Law (LLMC)

Public International Law examines the origin, content and operation of the law applicable to the conduct of nation states and international organizations and to their relations with one another. Particular attention is given to the relationship between international law and national law, international agreements, use of force, terrorism, peaceful settlement of disputes, jurisdictional principles, human rights, the status of individuals under international law, state responsibility and remedies, legal protection of foreign investment and the law of the sea.

Note: This is a required course for the International Law Concentration (JD).

This course will provide an overview of the complex interconnections between race and law in the United States. The class will begin with a broad overview of the legal construction of race, the color-blind approach to equality, and the scholarly movement known as Critical Race Theory (“CRT”). Both CRT and color-blind philosophies will be taught as essential perspectives, although students are encouraged to arrive at their own conclusions.
The course will then shift focus to the role of law in causing and remedying racial inequality. After a brief historical survey of the nexus between law and racial subjugation, the course will explore the development, application, effectiveness, and fate of race-conscious remedies designed to ameliorate patterns and effects of discrimination.
The course will conclude with a focus on specific contemporary issues related to race and the law in the areas of (1) affirmative action in the 21st century, (2) workplace discrimination, (3) language rights, (4) racial profiling, (5) free speech, (6) race & adoption, and (7) racial disparities in criminal sentencing. Topics may change in light of new developments.
While the primary focus will be on race from a multiracial and multiethnic perspective, the intersections of race with gender, class, and sexuality, as well as the relationship between specific ethnic groups, will be explored.
As the success of this class is entirely dependent on thorough preparation of assigned readings and thoughtful contribution to open class discussions, attendance and willingness to participate in discussions is both essential and mandatory.
Students’ grades will be based on a final exam and class participation.

This course covers the practical aspects of real property transactions, both residential and commercial. Topics include purchase & sale transactions, escrows, title insurance, options, deeds and title issues, leases, basic financing transactions, brokers and agents, and applicable documents. The course builds on the broader conceptual concepts covered in the Property course, and examines the application of those concepts used by practitioners in advising their clients in transactions.

Legal and equitable remedies under statutes and the common law are examined and compared. The course focuses on methods of evaluating alternative remedies and arguing for or against their creation or use in a given case. The course objective is to enable the student not only to identify all available remedies but also to choose the preferred remedy from among them. The principal subjects covered are equity, restitution and damages.

Note: This is a required course for the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD). This course may be applied as one of the three required courses for the Public Interest Law Concentration (JD).

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), Public Interest Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB)Prerequisite(s): Corporations or concurrent enrollment

The Securities Regulation class will include an overview of the capital markets and the underwriting process, the structure and prohibitions of the Securities Act, the registration process, the definitions of security and exempted securities, the private and limited offering exemptions, offerings by underwriters, affiliates and dealers, civil liability under the Securities Act, fraud in connection with a purchase or sale of a Security, and general civil liability provisions. Prerequisite: Corporations must be taken prior to or concurrently with this course.

Note: This is a required course for the Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD).

The Small Claims Clinic offers students the opportunity to develop interviewing and counseling skills as well as trial preparation skills in the Small Claims Court context. Students assist low-income families in preparing their cases for trial at Small Claims Court and can represent clients in the appeals process in Superior Court. Students must also be available to participate in outreach presentations at various community locations and times. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No Prerequisites.

The Small Claims Clinic offers students the opportunity to develop interviewing and counseling skills as well as trial preparation skills in the Small Claims Court context. Students assist low-income families in preparing their cases for trial at Small Claims Court and can represent clients in the appeals process in Superior Court. Students must also be available to participate in outreach presentations at various community locations and times. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No Prerequisites.

This Tax Appeals Assistance Program is a joint effort between USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization. Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate Office, students will assist taxpayers with their state tax appeals. Students receive legal practice skills training, including interviewing clients, identifying evidence, drafting appeals briefs, and representing clients in negotiations with the State Board and at hearing. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

This Tax Appeals Assistance Program is a joint effort between USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization. Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate Office, students will assist taxpayers with their state tax appeals. Students receive legal practice skills training, including interviewing clients, identifying evidence, drafting appeals briefs, and representing clients in negotiations with the State Board and at hearing. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

This State Sales & Use Tax Clinic is a joint effort between USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization. Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers' Rights Advocate Office, students will assist taxpayers at the Petitions stage of proceedings instituted against them by the Franchise Tax Board. Students receive legal practice skills training, including gathering evidence, preparing legal briefs, participating in negotiation proceedings and oral argument at an administrative hearing. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

This State Sales & Use Tax Clinic is a joint effort between USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization. Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers' Rights Advocate Office, students will assist taxpayers at the Petitions stage of proceedings instituted against them by the Franchise Tax Board. Students receive legal practice skills training, including gathering evidence, preparing legal briefs, participating in negotiation proceedings and oral argument at an administrative hearing. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

Tax I provides students with an understanding of the basic principles of federal income tax, including gross income, deductions, tax accounting, capital transactions, and income shifting. Required for upper-class students.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in Taxation (LLMT), Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB)Prerequisite(s): Tax I

The course involves a study of the basic concepts of federal income taxation of C corporations and their shareholders, including organization of corporations; cash and stock dividends; redemptions of stock; partial and complete liquidations; sales of corporate businesses and reorganizations. Taxation of corporations is compared with taxation of partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations. The emphasis is on careful analysis of Code provisions, Treasury Regulations, other administrative materials and important judicial decisions in relation to problems that are frequently assigned in advance of class discussion.

Note: This is a required course for the Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD).

This course involves an intensive examination of federal tax research techniques, including an evaluation of legislative history and administrative authorities. Students are required to research and prepare complex tax documents such as protests, opinion letters, memoranda of law, and Tax Court petitions. The course may not be counted toward the LLM if the candidate elects to write a thesis. Enrollment is limited to 12 students (no JDs) with priority to 1) December graduates and 2) full-time students.

This course involves an intensive examination of federal tax research techniques, including locating and evaluating legislative history, administrative authorities,and judicial decisions with attention to comparative weights and relationships among various authorities. Students are required to conduct various research and validation tasks, and to prepare complex tax documents, such as, ruling requests, protests, opinion letters, memoranda of law, and Tax Court petitions. Enrollment is limited to 12 students (no JDs) with priority to 1) December graduates and 2) full-time students.

This course examines the Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture laws utilized to dismantle ongoing criminal enterprises. We will review the various money laundering offenses under Title 18, anti-money laundering programs under the Bank Secrecy Act, and civil and criminal asset forfeiture. We will also review various defenses available to defendants and federal sentencing guidelines. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students. Prerequisite: Tax I. Grade determined by in-class final exam.

This course places students at local law firms to provide legal assistance to local technology startups in the areas of intellectual property prosecution and licensing, corporate formation and transactions, contracts, employment, and related areas. Students will be supervised by attorneys at local law firms as well as the professor. The course will begin with 2-3 weeks of class sessions covering the core types of transactions encountered in technology startups. There are no scheduled classes during the remainder of the semester; instead, students will work with the companies and supervising lawyers each week, and meet one-on-one with the professor on a regular basis. An application process will be used to select students for the course. Students who registered for the course during 2010-11 may not apply for the course for 2011-12. The course application and additional course information will be emailed no later than Friday, April 8, 2011. Students who do not receive an application by April 8, 2011, or who have questions about the course after reviewing the application, may email Professor Ted Sichelman, tsichelman@sandiego.edu. The deadline to submit an application for this course has been extended to Friday, April 29, 2011.

The distribution of goods and the provision of services in the global economy – and hence the production of revenue – frequently involves technology transfer. A grasp of the law of technology transfers, and the application of that law into practice are essential tools of a practicing business lawyer. This course will focus on the law and practice of development and exploitation of proprietary technology as well as the commercialization of that technology through the manufacture and distribution of products and provision of services. We will review the intellectual property law underpinnings of a technology transfer practice, including copyrights, patents, trade secrets and know-how, and trademarks, and then focus on how technology transfer agreements differ depending on the underlying intellectual property rights. We will review the basic building blocks of intellectual property agreements, and then together write software license agreements, patent license agreements, independent contractor agreements and terms and conditions of sale. Drafting skills will be developed using both lecture and practical training methods (hypothetical business scenarios coupled with drafting exercises based on those scenarios). This course will be practical in its orientation, with an emphasis on drafting documents customarily encountered by lawyers practicing in the technology transfer space.

This class is designed to provide students with an understanding of insurance law, with an emphasis on insurance litigation. This class will include relevant case law and real-life examples to provide students with the ability to identify and analyze potential insurance issues they will encounter in the practice of law. This class will also discuss the future issues expected to arise in insurance, including a look at the post-9-11 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The first part of the class will provide a mixture of lecture and discussion. The second part of the class will be taught in a seminar format. Students will be required to complete an in-depth research paper and make a presentation of their paper to the class. The paper will meet the written work requirement.

Torts (Staff)LWAA540

4 credit(s)

An exploration of the principles involved in determining whether an injured person should be compensated for harm caused by another, including such diverse topics as intentional harms, negligence, and strict liability.

This course provides an overview of trademark and unfair competition law. We will discuss the purpose of these laws, the requirements for trademark protection, and the scope and enforcement of trademark rights. Specifically, we will cover the concepts of distinctiveness, functionality, and use of a trademark; the procedural and substantive aspects of trademark registration; geographic limits on trademark rights; trademark infringement, dilution, cybersquatting, counterfeiting, false advertising, false endorsement, and the right of publicity; and defenses and remedies in trademark actions. The grade will be based on a final examination.

Note: May be applied as part of the six required credits for the Intellectual Property Concentration (JD).

In this course the non-tax aspects of estate planning are integrated, combining wills, trusts, future interests, and community property. Methods of family wealth transfer in both community property and non-community property jurisdictions are considered, including: inter vivos gifts, wills, trusts, intestate succession and will substitutes. Fiduciary administration; class gifts; powers of appointment; the rule against perpetuities; charitable trusts; classification, control and management of community property; and the distribution of property on dissolution of the community are studied.

This survey course provides an introduction to non-tax aspects of estate planning and the law of gratuitous transfers, including inter vivos gifts, intestate succession, wills, will substitutes, trusts, fiduciary administration, and future interests.

This survey course provides an introduction to non-tax aspects of estate planning and the law of gratuitous transfers, including inter vivos gifts, intestate succession, wills, will substitutes, trusts, fiduciary administration, and future interests.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

The course on sales of goods addresses the provisions of Article 2 of the U.C.C., with some comparisons with the new Article 2A on leases of goods. The primary topics include contract formation and enforceability, terms of the contract, risk of loss, warranties, performance and breach, remedies for breach, and transfer of goods. A problem-solving approach is used extensively.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

This course deals with the creation, perfection, enforcement, and priorities of security interest in personal property, including goods, "paper" collateral, and intangibles such as accounts, in both commercial and consumer settings. The treatment of security interests in bankruptcy, and in priority contexts with various non-Article 9 interests, is also examined.

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